Of Head Injuries and Hospital Beds
by snapsandprongsforever
Summary: James is hit by a bludger during a Quidditch game and temporarily forgets that he is actually dating Lily Evans.


(A/N): tumblr prompt: james is in an established relationship with lily at hogwarts but gets hit by a bludger and forgets. cuteness ensues:). Follow me here (personal) or here (Marauders).

James blinked at the fuzzy outlines of her beloved face that swam in and out of focus in time with the throbbing in his head. His mouth was dry and the stabbing pain behind his eyes made his effort to focus them all the more torturous. He felt a cool and soft hand touch his. Was it Lily's? He was still disoriented and quite lost. He didn't know what had happened, but it seemed to him that he was in the Hospital Wing; he recognized the scent of healing potions and singed hair.

"Don't move James." It was definitely her lilting voice, soft and melodic that always made his chest tighten slightly. "You were hit with a bludger during the Hufflepuff match today. Can you remember?"

James struggled to put the pieces together, somewhat hindered by the fact that her hand seemed to be caressing his. "What? I don't remember anything. Did we win?" His voice came out hoarse and slurred. He sounded somewhat intoxicated.

Lily laughed lightly and James' stomach lurched. When was the last time he had made her laugh like that? It was quite possible that he never had. "Seriously James? You did, of course. Your team did fine despite the fact that their star player wasn't there. You did a pretty good job whipping them into shape." There was a slight tinge of pride in her voice. James struggled to sit up, looking at Lily full in the face, examining her concerned eyes, her soft smile and the blush that hid itself behind her freckles. What was this? Was Lily interested? James' heart pounded a rhythm against his ribcage and James attempted to tamp down the hope that was forcing it's way up his throat.

"Lily?" His voice was wobbly, but the entire world was topsy turvy at the moment and he couldn't bring himself to care all that much. He had important matters to attend to. Lily hummed in answer, her eyes running over his face, as if checking once again for injuries. "Did Madame Pomfrey drug me? Because I'm pretty sure that you sitting by my bedside is a hallucination."

Surprise crossed Lily's features before she laughed again (twice in a row? This was a new record). "Oh, Madame Pomfrey said this might happen."

"What, hallucinations?" James' tone conveyed the sinking of his heart and he lowered his eyes, gazing at their interlocked hands, because _of course_ this wasn't real. Lily would never agree to spend time with James if it weren't for schoolwork or Marlene even.

"No. She said you could have temporary memory loss. She wasn't sure but she said it would come back to you." Lily pushed James' hair back with her free hand and he was sure that goosebumps had erupted on every inch of his skin at the touch.

"What does that have to do with this then? And how do you know?" James halfheartedly put up his defensive walls, because if he couldn't handle Lily normally, talking to her while drugged and suffering temporary memory loss was something he wasn't sure he could recover from.

"James, this has everything to do with me because you are my boyfriend." Her tone was matter of fact and brisk, completely normal, as if she hadn't stolen James' breath with her words. James' head reeled and this really had to be a hallucination because he was not the kind of guy who was lucky enough to get a date with Lily Evans, let alone be her boyfriend. He was too flippant, too edgy and not at all capable of handling the heartbreak that could come along with her swirling hair and mischievous smile.

"W-what?" James stammered, trying to collect his thoughts as Lily moved closer, her hand moving from his hair to cup the side of his face. Her touch was soft, but familiar and it occurred to him that they had done this before because her had fit so _naturally_ to his jaw and her pinkie found the perfect slot behind his ear with a practiced ease and _Merlin_, he was truly dating Lily Evans.

"We have been dating for months," she murmured as her face inched closer and closer to his. "The whole school knows and we have regular visits to the various broom closets in our school. Sirius is caught between being proud and disgusted. Remus is exasperated and Peter seems to think that we are playing some kind of joke on him. We, James Potter, are dating and you have made me oh so happy. Now are you going to kiss me?"

James locked eyes with her in disbelief, but her comments about his friends were spot on. She must be telling the truth. and then, because he could wait no longer, he cautiously angled his face and fit his lips to hers. James could feel her smile against his lips before he reached out and grabbed her by the waist to pull her into his lap.

A few hours later, Madame Pomfrey was surprised to find not one, but two occupants in James' bed. But while Lily was asleep, curled up against James, he had a dazed look that Pomfrey knew had nothing to do with his head injury.


End file.
